First on CNN: New report details ‘systematic’ rape and sexual violence during Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel | CNN

EDITOR’S NOTE: This report contains details of sexual assault and violence. Hamas militants and their allies raped, assaulted and sexually tortured their victims during and after the October 7, 2023 terror attack on southern Israel “to maximize pain and suffering,” a landmark new report has concluded. Shared first with CNN, the report presents the most comprehensive body of evidence yet of sexual and gender-based violence against women, men and children, which it describes as “systematic, widespread, and integral to” the assault. “The most important finding is the fact that the sexual violence on October 7 and against hostages in captivity has been a calculated strategy by Hamas,” lead author and human rights expert Cochav Elkayam-Levy told CNN. The report includes firsthand testimonies from more than 10 survivors who endured extreme sexual violence and sexual abuse during the attack, their abduction or while held in captivity in Gaza. Some of them, including former hostages Romi Gonen, Rom Braslavski, Arbel Yehud, Amit Soussana, Ilana Gritzewsky and others, have spoken publicly about their ordeal. Other victims have only shared their experiences confidentially with